


just breathe, it's only one bad day

by Tatsumaki_sama



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Biological Warfare, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Poison, Protective Team, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 20:10:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12638298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tatsumaki_sama/pseuds/Tatsumaki_sama
Summary: Washington gets poisoned in a biological attack. The rest of them could only watch and wait.





	just breathe, it's only one bad day

**Author's Note:**

> I just had a mighty need to write a Sick!Washington story. I'm no doctor so please excuse any incorrect medical procedures or terminology. I'm also a sucker for good interaction with Washington and the others, especially with Epsilon.

The second his helmet visor cracked and splintered and he smelled the sickeningly sweet gas entering in all too willingly, Washington knew he was in trouble.

 

 _Assess the situation_ , a part of his mind said, sounding suspiciously like Delta. _Locate the spread of contamination. Limit casualties._ _Minimize damage._

 

And that was what Washington did, slamming the butt of his rifle into the space pirate's gut hard enough to knock him out and sealing the canister releasing the virus that was intended to incapacitate a good portion of Chorus's army, leaving them helpless and defenceless for whatever Locus and Felix had planned for them.

 

By the time Carolina and the others arrived at the abandoned warehouse, he managed to stop the gas and isolate the canister despite the fractures in his visor semi-blinding him and how hard it was to breathe.

 

Always happy to see him, Caboose bounded forward.

 

“ Stay right there Caboose!” Washington shouted a warning.

 

Thankfully for once, Caboose obeyed but he tilted his head like a curious child wondering why he was denied candy. “ Why can't I come closer?” he yelled back. “ Are you hiding something? Is there a present there for me?”

 

Washington couldn't look at them in the eye, didn't want to admit what was going to happen next. But his lungs traitorously gave him away and he started coughing, his back giving out on him so he was hunched over and they all found out anyways.

 

“ Wash!”

 

They cried for him. Carolina and Tucker, despite seeing his cracked helmet and already hearing Epsilon hissing about contamination and exposure and risk, took a step towards him.

 

“ Don't!” Blinking through watery eyes, he managed to inhale a shaky breath. “ I've been contaminated. It's not safe around me.”

 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Carolina clenching her fists at her sides, Tucker swearing up a storm and Sarge gripping his shotgun tightly.

 

“ What's the situation?” Carolina tightly asked, her voice edging into something dangerous.

 

 _What can we do to help?_ was her unheard question.

 

“ We need to quarantine the area. I managed to stop the gas but it's unknown what are its effects. Get Dr Grey here to assess.” Washington heaved a sigh. “ We'll need blood tests on me. Interrogate any prisoners for answers. Find out what was in the gas.”

 

“ And after that, Washington will be fine?” Caboose asked.

 

Neither Washington or any one else had the heart to tell him otherwise.

 

~.~.~

 

He was forced to remove all his armour and undersuit. He disliked it, feeling exposed and unguarded.

 

Washington knew it had to be done, as the cold water sloshed over his shoulders, running down his neck and arms, soaking through his hair. They had to clean off any residue that got on his skin, Grey had told him. It could be the tipping point that either saves his life or ends it.

 

Grey managed to organize a transport for him back to Armonia, to a separate location where she had promptly set up an isolation ward just for him. “ I always prepare for the worst,” she had said as she helped put an oxygen mask over him and passing him a hospital gown.

 

He did not want to think about how many other times the space pirates tried to inflict biological warfare on the Chorus army and how close they were to succeeding this time, even with the Reds and Blues' help.

 

“ How are you doing?” Grey entered the white room. He could smell the strong alcohol rubbed into her hands to protect herself. From him.

 

“ I'm fine.”

 

She glanced at the several monitors surrounding on him. “ Your vitals would say otherwise,” Grey cheerfully pointed out.

 

Washington sighed. “ I feel tired,” he admitted.

 

“ Tired?”

 

He was not even lying. Exhaustion was seeping and settling in his bones, starting to gnaw behind his eyes, weighing down his body. He wasn't sure if it was from the chemicals or from the aftermath of all the panic, urgency and commotion of trying to stop Felix and Locus from unleashing a biological virus on the planet. “ Yeah. Just tired.”

 

A frown pressed against Grey's mouth. She didn't believe him and Washington wasn't sure if he believed himself either.

 

~.~.~

 

On one hand, Grey setting up a two-way glass window for them to see and speak with Washington was a relief. Tucker wouldn't have been able to stand Caboose's constant nagging questions about Washington and when they could see him and how was he was doing.

 

But on the other hand, setting up the two-way window glass only meant they could not rush in and help Washington as he was currently throwing up whatever was left in his stomach.

 

Tucker was thankful that Caboose had enough sense not to turn on the sound. It would be a hundred times worse if they heard the sound of Washington heaving and gagging and the sickening splatter of bile hitting the bucket Grey was holding for him.

 

His fingers twitched restlessly. This wasn't something Tucker could swish and stab and kill and make everything better in an instant.

 

He wanted to do something. Anything would be better than standing here just watching. He understood now why Carolina remained in the training rooms day and night, punching and kicking bags. It was something productive in a sense to get rid of that pent-up, uneasy energy.

 

Washington finally managed to raise his head from the bucket, face pale, eyes bloodshot from the exertion. He shook his head at Grey's unheard question, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and leaning back against the pillow, looking miserable and exhausted.

 

“ Are you feeling better now, Agent Washington?” Caboose's abruptly deafening voice startled both Tucker and Washington. He practically yelled into the tiny microphone, bringing his face unnecessarily close to it.

 

Washington reached over to grab the microphone. Tucker did not like the way his hands trembled in the effort. “ Yes Caboose,” he said, trying hard to mask the weariness in his voice. “ I feel better.”

 

It was a terrible lie that not even Caboose was fooled by it. “ You look like the time I definitely did not accidentally ate an alien grasshopper and I couldn't get out of bed for four days because my stomach was trying to get out of me,” Caboose spoke solemnly.

 

Washington gave an aside glance to Tucker. “ Yeah. Something like that.”

 

“ So that means we have a lot in common,” Caboose brightly said.

 

Washington actually managed to chuckle, a hoarse wet sound coming from his throat.

 

Tucker didn't think it was funny at all.

 

~.~.~

 

Grey had closed the blinds to the window to ensure some privacy as she ran some tests on Washington, trying to work on a cure with Epsilon's assistance. Carolina paced the small hallway, trying not to stare at the window.

 

The tension in her shoulders and back had not eased since they first got news of the biological warfare the space pirates were planning. The prisoners she interrogated with Grey did not share much more than what they already knew, much to her frustrations. Only Felix and Locus and Hargrove knew of the components in the gas and they had no men or time to spare to seek them out at the moment.

 

Tucker arrived with Simmons and Donut, having given up on training. She might have lectured them on their sloppiness today but they looked as exhausted and frustrated as she felt, so Carolina said nothing.

 

That's when they heard the alarms and muffled raised voices from inside.

 

Tucker sprinted forward before Carolina could stop him and he hit the microphone on because he couldn't stand not knowing what was happening in there. “ Epsilon, what's happening in there?” he yelled.

 

Only for his voice to be drowned by the sound of wailing beeps, the harsh gasping of Washington and the raised voices of Epsilon and Grey.

 

“ – oxygen levels dropping to 81%.”

 

“ I'm prepping to intubate Wash now.”

 

“ Running calculations for anesthesia administration.”

 

“ Epsilon, you also need to – ”

 

“ Already on it.”

 

“ His blood pressure is dropping.”

 

“ I'm trying! I'm trying!”

 

“ We're losing him!”

 

“ Hang in there Washington! Just hang – ”

 

Epsilon's voice abruptly cut off. Carolina was the one to shut the speakers off, unable to take hearing any more of Washington's choked gurgles, Grey's voice ascending in urgency and Epsilon's desperate reassurances.

 

She turned around and started walking back to the training room, ignoring Tucker and Simmons' calls for her.

 

~.~.~

 

There was something unnerving how still Washington was, just lying on the bed, hooked up to all these tubes and drains. Grey had him pumped full of antibiotics and hydration and painkillers. The aftermath of Washington almost flat-lining in front of them still burned at the back of Epsilon's mind.

 

 _Let's hunt down Felix and Locus_ , Omega growled.

 

 _We can make them pay for what they did,_ Sigma whispered. _We can make them fix this._

 

Damn right Epsilon wanted to hunt down Felix and Locus and make them pay. And damn right he needed to fix this.

 

Fix Washington.

 

This was too much like before. Like when he was implanted in Washington. Epsilon had never meant to hurt anyone, much less Washington, but the agony had been too much and before he knew it, his mind already unravelled, shattered and imploded. Washington was simply the unlucky soul caught in the middle.

 

 _Wash's waking up!_ Theta exclaimed, shaking Epsilon from his thoughts.

 

Epsilon was greeted with haggard, fever-bright eyes rounding in recognition at his holographic figure. Washington's eyes darted around the room, slowly taking in his surroundings. “ Hey there,” Epsilon said gently, directing Washington's gaze back at him. “ Don't move too much. You have a tube to help you breathe and several IVs hooked to you.”

 

Almost in defiance of what he just said, a hand absently drifted to his mouth and where the intubation tube was down his throat.

 

“ Don't pull it out,” Epsilon advised. “ Grey wouldn't like it if you ruined her hard work.”

 

And just like that, Washington's hand flopped back down on the bed. While marvelling at the power of the one and only Doctor Grey, Epsilon took a quick glance at Washington's vitals. _Not optimal_ , Delta murmured. _It is hardly an improvement from before_.

 

 _At least Wash's awake_ , Iota piped up.

 

 _But for how long?_ Eta frowned.

 

 _You will be able to help him, right?_ Theta worriedly asked.

 

Epsilon pushed their voices aside. _Give me some credit here. I'm doing the best and I_ _ **am**_ _the best._ “ Gonna ask you some questions since Grey's not here,” he said out loud. “ Blink once for yes and twice for no.”

 

Washington nodded with difficulty. His eyes were startlingly bright and yet dull at the same time. _His mental capacities are not within normal,_ Delta chided unnecessarily. _You should save questioning him for another time when Agent Washington is more lucid_ – “ Yeah, yeah. How's your pain, Washington? Pretty bad?”

 

One blink. It must be bad for Washington the king of hiding injuries and downplaying wounds to admit it.

 

Epsilon sent Theta to tweak the pain pump. “ Better now?”

 

Another blink. Washington made a vague hand motion towards the shuttered window. “ You asking about Tucker and the others?” Another blink. “ They're doing just fine. Don't sweat about it.”

 

Washington narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

 

 _You need to improve on your lying_ , Gamma dryly intoned. Epsilon sent a “shut up” his way.

 

“ Relax. Tucker's just being his usual annoying self. Caboose is – well, being Caboose. And Carolina hasn't managed to kill anyone yet, so that's a win.”

 

A huff of air puffed through the tube, like Washington was exhaling deeply. Was it possible for someone to disapprovingly sigh while having intubation? Washington managed to.

 

“ Shut up,” Epsilon muttered. “ Go back to sleep. Or go restart. Or whatever you Freelancers do.”

 

With another huffed sigh, Washington did close his eyes. And soon enough, his breathing evened out and he fell back into an uneasy sleep.

 

A transparent hand brushed over Washington's warm forehead. “ We're going to get you out of this mess Wash,” Epsilon quietly said. “ Just hold on.”

 

~.~.~

 

For the umpteenth time, Sarge both vocally and inwardly cursed Blue Team problems and the ensuing predicament he and the Red Team and everyone else had to deal with.

 

It had been three days since Washington slipped into a coma and despite Epsilon and Grey's efforts, he remained dead to the world. There was something wrong, seeing the man deathly pale as if he had already gone. The monitors humming and beeping was the only reassurance they had that Washington was still among the living.

 

Regardless, it was little comfort to the others.

 

Sarge saw Carolina either endlessly running drills in the training room or driving several squads into tears. Normally, they would send either Washington or Epsilon to make her stop and slow down but neither were there, Washington being unconscious and Epsilon busily working to wake Washington. So they could only leave Carolina to spiral down an unhealthy coping mechanism.

 

Caboose spent most of his time sitting across Washington's window and chatting aimlessly at Washington. To the passing soldiers, he acted as if Washington was simply sleeping and would wake up any time. But on some days, Sarge would catch Caboose forlornly tapping on the glass window, asking the machines hooked onto Washington to make his friend better.

 

Tucker was hardly eating or sleeping and he would snap at anyone who told him otherwise. He avoided Washington's room with a fierce yet brittle determination. He repeatedly argued with Carolina and Grey to get an opportunity to interrogate the space pirates but they always denied him. It only made Tucker restlessly prowl the hallways like a haunted ghost.

 

It wasn't just them. The lieutenants were anxious. Kimball was tense and Doyle was troubled. The city was filled with agitation and dread.

 

They were all falling apart. It was only a matter of time before Felix and Locus took them out at their weakest.

 

Sarge dearly hoped the space pirates would launch an attack. And his shotgun would love nothing more than to pump them full of lead for what they did to Washington. Washington might be a dirty Blue but Sarge considered him one of his own.

 

And Felix and Locus would learn better than to hurt one of Sarge's men.

 

~.~.~

 

He drifted.

 

At times, he was back on the _Mother of Invention_ and its familiar hallways. Then, he was wandering the empty plains of Blood Gulch. Suddenly, he was sweating in the desert with the alien temples and he was freezing at the snowy slopes of Sidewinder.

 

Currently, he found himself at the Club Errera. He'd never been there before, just heard the stories from York and Carolina. The flashy lights and rowdy music on the dance floor made him flinch and dart his eyes nervously around.

 

Maine, large and imposing as ever even without his armor, pulled a stool over to sit next to him, casually waving over the bartender for a drink.

 

Washington opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He tried again but ended up choking and coughing. His hands clutched around his throat and he couldn't breathe.

 

A bubble of hysteria threatened to burst. _I'm like you now Maine_ , he thought.

 

“ Not like me,” Maine murmured, touching the back of Washington's neck. Washington shuddered, feeling the coldness of Maine's fingers against his implants. “ Your mind is still yours.”

 

CT arrived, armour smeared with blood. He looked at her full of regret. _Should have listened to you, Connie. I'm sorry. Should have paid more attention._

 

She shook her head, a sad little smile playing around her pretty mouth. “ Wasn't you.” She rested her hand against his shoulder, a familiar grip. “ Project Freelancer would have found a way to kill us all. You are just the latest victim.”

 

He wanted to argue, place the blame on himself but Maine shoved a drink under his nose. “ Hurry and finish,” Maine rumbled. “ You'll be late.”

 

 _Late for what?_ Washington asked.

 

But no sooner than when he took a sip, the club started spinning around him. Maine stoically watched him and CT was downing shot after shot. The music became a dull ring in his ears and the lights grew dim.

 

 _Wait_ , he started to say as he began to fall through the floor.

 

“ See you on the other side,” CT called after him before all the lights in the club went out.

 

~.~.~

 

“ ... blankets heated? He looks cold.”

 

“ They are. His body just needs time to get back on track. His immune system really got messed up by the virus.”

 

“ Is that why we needed to drink alcohol to get in?”

 

“ You drank the disinfectant?! Is that why there was none left?!”

 

“ It was very delicious.”

 

“ Urgh. Excuse me while I throw up in the corner here.”

 

Several voices were strangely loud around him. There was a sense of déjà vu where there was a strong desire for him to sit up and yell and make them shut up so he could sleep in peace.

 

“ His hand moved!”

 

“ What? You sure?”

 

“ No, I've been hallucinating. Yes! I saw it move!”

 

The voices were becoming increasingly annoying and comforting to hear.

 

“ See? See? His hand moved again!”

 

“ I saw it too. Wash? Can you hear me? Think you can open your eyes?”

 

He recognized this voice but he couldn't place a name to it. There was a strong need to snap to attention and follow orders but his body was simply too tired to obey.

 

“ We miss seeing the color of your eyes!”

 

“ After hearing that, he'll probably keep them closed.”

 

One voice was child-like and honest. The other sarcastic and dry. Both were familiar.

 

But wait. The fogginess of his brain cleared a little and he suddenly remembered he had been contaminated, infected, tainted. _Danger danger danger!_ his mind shouted. It was not safe to be near him. Why were they here? They should be far away from him.

 

The monitors smoothly alerted of a spike in his vitals. “ Calm down. Grey already administered the antidote. You're in the clear,” someone irritably droned near his ear. A slight mechanical undertone wavered through the sarcastic voice. “ No need for theatrics. Don't undo all my hard work.”

 

He relaxed, only a miniscule amount. If that was the case, then surely it would not hurt to see his friends, he reasoned.

 

He opened his eyes.

 

Epsilon was the closest, just hovering by the rails. Caboose was leaning over his bed with a huge goofy grin. On the other side was Carolina and Tucker, the dark circles under their eyes giving away their exhaustion but their expressions were of relief. And standing a little further back but no less comforting was the Reds, Donut clapping his hands in delight, Sarge with his arms crossed, Simmons awkwardly waving and Grif snarking away.

 

Washington couldn't help but smile.

 


End file.
